Selling a House with Pet Damage

There are few things most people love more than their pets. Some owners let their pets sleep at the end of their beds. Others include them in their annual holiday photo. Still others create dedicated Instagram accounts to share their pet’s persona with the world. The one thing no one loves about pets? When they leave stains and odors that damage your house, especially when it comes time to sell it.

If you’ve had your pets (and your house) for a long time, you might not even notice the smell anymore. Remember that Febreze commercial about being “nose blind”? Unfortunately, prospective buyers will notice. As a result, selling a house with cat pee, excessive dog hair or scratched up doors or carpets is increasingly difficult to do.

Here are some tips to consider when selling a house with pet damage:

1. Hire a professional carpet cleaner. Google My Business, Facebook, Angie’s List, and Yelp are a great starting point to find the right carpet cleaning company. You can also look at their rating and how they’ve handled complaints on the Better Business Bureau. Using all of these tools, you can narrow down your options. What isn’t an option? Selling a house with cat pee or dog vomit stains. It has a way of permeating the inner fibers of carpet. The right carpet cleaning company can make your house look and smell like an inviting place to live again. You might expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred for a basic cleaning to more than a grand for a major odor and stain solution.
2. Move your furniture out. If you can financially swing it, many real estate agents will tell you it’s advantageous to move out before the property’s sale. First, it’s easier for the prospective buyer to picture themselves in a home that’s free from personal belongings. Second, selling a house with pet damage is already difficult enough. Bad-smelling or fur-covered furniture won’t help the case. Maybe your couch is covered in dog hair. Or your cat marked one of the wooden legs on an armchair. You don’t have to worry about catching every potential barrier to the sale if all of your things are already gone.
3. Pay for repairs from pet damage. Remember that time your cat tried to remodel your living room? Well, your curtains, couch and carpet do. Consider moving out any damaged furniture or furnishings and fixing any staples that will remain in the house, such as carpet, doors or baseboards. It doesn’t run cheap though — recarpeting a 16×20 room can cost $960 to $1,920, according to HGTV. If it’s not included in the price of the carpet, you’ll also need to buy underlayment pads, which stacks another couple hundred dollars onto the bill for a 16×20 room.
4. If possible, avoid having your pets in the house during showings. The increased traffic coming into and out of your house may cause anxiety in some pets. That anxiety could cause further collateral damage. Cats may start marking their territory with urine if they feel anxious, according to The Humane Society. Dogs might bark at strangers, reminding them that they don’t belong there. And if someone isn’t a snake person and you have a pet snake? They might go running in the other direction. Depending on the type of animal, consider taking them for a walk during showings, having them stay at a trusted neighbor’s house temporarily, or crating them if they are already used to seeking their crate for comfort and security. If it’s a dog, you might even just let him or her roam around your fenced-in backyard until the showing is over.
5. Skip the hassle and sell your house to The Buy Guys. A house-buying company, The Buy Guys pay cash for single- and multi-family houses, townhouses, or apartment properties “as is” in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. That means in any condition. Selling a house with pet damage or cat pee has never been easier. You don’t have to foot the bill for a professional cleaning or costly repairs — or move out before you can sell the house. We’ll buy your house however you (and your beloved pet) left it. We’ll also make sure you have plenty of time to find another place that both you and your pet will love.

For a free, no-obligation estimate, call (888) 204-7603 or fill out this form on our website.